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5 Signs Of Prostate Cancer You Shouldn't Ignore

One of the most prevalent malignancies in men, particularly as they age, is prostate cancer. Prostate cancer can have a variety of symptoms, some of which are obvious, while others can be missed or mistaken for less serious conditions. It is essential to identify these subtle signs to receive early detection and efficient treatment.According to the Lancet Commission, the number of cases of prostate cancer is projected to triple and the number of deaths to grow by 85% between 2020 and 2040, making it a major global health concern. Early detection and treatment are important, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where most of this increase is projected to occur. The course of prostate cancer is slow over several years. Until the condition has gotten big enough to be detected, most men ignore the symptoms. Nonetheless, the probability of a successful course of treatment is increased by identifying the early signs of prostate cancer.

Having trouble urinating Having trouble urinating is one of the most common early indicators of prostate cancer. Weak urine flow, frequent urination (especially at night), or the feeling that the bladder isn't emptying are possible symptoms of this. These symptoms arise from the prostate's ability to press against the urethra when it is big or tumorous, restricting it and making urination difficult.

Blood in semen or urine According to Dr. Rahul Wagh, Consultant: Surgical Oncology, Manipal Hospital, Baner, Pune, "Blood in the urine or semen (hematuria or hemospermia) can be concerning and shouldn't ever be ignored. While there are other probable causes for similar symptoms, prostate cancer is a possibility, so one should be checked out right away."

Pain or discomfort Prostate cancer can be indicated by chronic pain or discomfort in the thighs, lower back, or pelvic area. The malignancy can spread to bones or other tissues, causing this discomfort. Unfortunately, bone pain might not appear until the cancer grows beyond the prostate gland, so men need to be aware of other symptoms and get help if they have unexplained bone pain.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) The inability to obtain or sustain an erection strong enough for sexual activity is known as erectile dysfunction (ED). Along with being a symptom of underlying medical disorders like prostate cancer, ED can also be brought on by several other reasons, like stress, anxiety, or vascular problems. Problems with erectile function may arise from prostate cancer's impact on the nerves and blood vessels in the pelvic region. Men who get ED regularly should see their doctor to rule out any serious core reasons.

Weight loss and fatigue Sudden weight loss and persistent fatigue may indicate that cancer is being actively fought by the body. These symptoms could be an immediate manifestation of the malignancy, or they could be a systemic reaction to the disease. Such symptoms call for a careful medical checkup and should not be ignored.

Treatment options in the new era Treatment options for prostate cancer patients differ based on the disease's stage and severity. Prostatectomy and other similar surgical procedures entail the excision of the prostate gland and can be carried out with the use of robotic surgery or other minimally invasive methods. Chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and radiation therapy are examples of non-surgical treatments. Active surveillance, which entails keeping a careful eye on the disease and only treating it if it advances, is often a possibility for early-stage cancer.By helping to identify the most appropriate course of treatment—immunotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or radiation—based on a patient's genetic profile, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are transforming the way that prostate cancer is treated. AI can help develop molecular treatments that target specific genetic alterations in the cancer cells of a given subgroup when the original treatment is insufficient for them. This allows for more individualised approaches to treatment.

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A PSA For Prostate Cancer

 No signs, no symptoms: That's often how prostate cancer starts. The warning signs often come when it's too late.

"Really it's a boring story, I didn't have any symptoms, I went to a yearly exam, and my primary doctor suggested maybe this year, I need to start doing a yearly PSA test," Andrew Moore recalled.

Moore lives in Ephraim, and after one of those PSA tests, his life would change.

"That's the really important thing about prostate cancer screening, is that there really are no symptoms," said Dr. Heather Stefaniak, a urological surgeon at Aurora BayCare Medical Center.

"The only way we have of knowing that it's there is an elevated PSA, which is prostate-specific antigen, it's a protein that the prostate makes," said Dr. Stefaniak.

At his routine check-up last fall, Moore's PSA blood test revealed extremely high PSA levels. After a biopsy, Moore was diagnosed with intermediate-grade prostate cancer at age 53.

That's when he was connected with Dr. Stefaniak at Aurora BayCare Medical Center.

"She went over the procedure and my choices and from there, I chose to have surgery," Moore recalled. "She was very good with telling me about the procedure and answering all my questions. She went over the pre- and post-op plan so that could potentially help, so then I could focus on that instead of the cancer," Moore said.

Moore underwent a robotic prostatectomy, a minimally invasive surgical procedure to remove the prostate. He'll still have regular PSA tests for the next 10 years, but now he's cancer-free.

And while catching it early is important, so is dispelling some of the stigma surrounding prostate cancer.

"People say, 'Oh I'll die with prostate cancer rather than from prostate cancer,"' Dr. Stefaniak said. "Well, when you're 52-years-old, have intermediate prostate cancer, have 30-plus years of life (left), prostate cancer will cause you a problem if you don't do anything," she said.

Moore hopes more men will look out for this silent killer, too.

"I would tell them don't just go to the doctor when you're feeling sick or have some sort of symptoms. Find a doctor, go to them every year, and listen to their suggestions because you may have a problem and it might get caught early," said Moore.

To learn more about prostate cancer treatment options, visit Aurora BayCare's website.

Glowing Dye May Help Surgeons Eradicate Prostate Cancer

A glowing marker dye that sticks to prostate cancer cells could help surgeons to remove them in real-time, according to a paper published in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, titled "First‑in‑man study of the PSMA Minibody IR800‑IAB2M for molecularly targeted intraoperative fluorescence guidance during radical prostatectomy."

Scientists, based at the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences and the Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford University Hospitals and Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Center used a fluorescent dye attached to a special marker molecule to give medics a "second pair of eyes" during surgery for prostate cancer.

Twenty-three men with prostate cancer were injected with the marker dye before undergoing prostate removal surgery. The marker dye found areas of cancerous tissue not picked up by the naked eye or other clinical methods.

The dye allowed the surgeons to remove all cancerous tissues—which could reduce the chances of cancer coming back—while preserving healthy tissues. Preserving healthy tissues means fewer life-changing side effects after surgery.

The combination of dye and targeting molecule, called IR800-IAB2M, allows surgeons to see the edges of the tumor and identify any clusters of cells that have spread from the tumor into nearby pelvic tissues and lymph nodes. This guides the surgeon to remove all cancerous tissues and preserve healthy areas around the prostate.

This substantially reduces the chances that the cancer will come back in future and minimizes the possibility of life changing side-effects for the patient after the operation.

The dye and marker molecule work by attaching themselves to a protein called Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) commonly found on the surface of prostate cancer cells.

The marker molecule is made from a smaller version of an antibody called a "minibody," which can only bind to PSMA and not to any other molecule. The dye and marker molecule combination were developed by Oxford scientists in collaboration with ImaginAb Inc., a company based in Inglewood, California.

In the first stage of the ProMOTE study, 23 men diagnosed with prostate cancer were injected with the fluorescent dye before undergoing robot-assisted surgery to remove the prostate (known as a radical prostatectomy).

Surgeons used an imaging system that shines a special type of light on the prostate and nearby areas, to make the prostate cancer cells glow. The imaging system was developed by an engineering team led by Professor Borivoj Vojnovic at the University of Oxford.

For multiple patients in the study, the dye identified clusters of cells which had spread away from the tumor which couldn't be seen by the naked eye.

This marker dye is in its early stages of clinical development, but in future it could be used routinely by surgeons to see every part of the cancer while they perform surgery to remove the prostate.

The imaging system to see glowing cancer cells could be integrated into the robot-assisted tools used for prostate surgery. The marker dye could also be used for other types of cancer, by changing the protein it uses to attach itself to the cancer cells.

Further clinical trials are already underway in larger groups of patients to find out if the technique removes more prostate cancer, and preserves more healthy pelvic tissue, compared to existing surgical methods.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with around 52,300 new cases every year.

Nuffield Professor of Surgery at the University of Oxford and lead author of the study, Professor Freddie Hamdy, said, "We are giving the surgeon a second pair of eyes to see where the cancer cells are and if they have spread. It's the first time we've managed to see such fine details of prostate cancer in real-time during surgery.

"With this technique, we can strip all the cancer away, including the cells that have spread from the tumor which could give it the chance to come back later. It also allows us to preserve as much of the healthy structures around the prostate as we can, to reduce unnecessary life-changing side-effects like incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

"Prostate surgery is life changing. We want patients to leave the operating theater knowing that we have done everything possible to eradicate their cancer and give them the best quality of life afterwards. I believe this technique makes that possibility a reality."

Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Cancer Research UK, Dr. Iain Foulkes, said, "Surgery can effectively cure cancers when they are removed at an early stage. But, in those early stages, it's near impossible to tell by eye which cancers have spread locally and which have not.

"We need better tools to spot cancers which have started to spread further. The combined marker dye and imaging system that this research has developed could fundamentally transform how we treat prostate cancer in the future.

"We hope that this new technique continues to show promise in future trials. It is exciting that we could soon have access to surgical tools which could reliably eradicate prostate and other cancers and give people longer, healthier lives free from the disease."

More information: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s00259-024-06713-x

Citation: Glowing dye may help surgeons eradicate prostate cancer (2024, June 9) retrieved 30 June 2024 from https://medicalxpress.Com/news/2024-06-dye-surgeons-eradicate-prostate-cancer.Html

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